Tax Deductions! Sign Me UP!

Seriously though, did you know you can support our classroom and get a tax deduction at the same time? I've used Donors Choose to get some great materials in my class!  Click here to help us get Scholastic Weekly Reader and Science Spin magazines!
And... Click here to help us get a binding machine and supplies to make our own books!

Ink a Dink a Bottle of Ink...

Yay! We got ink! It's not snazzy or super exciting to most, but let me tell you, when that printer light comes on and I have ink at the ready - I'll be excited!

We thanked our DonorsChoose donors with some super creative notes and drawings.

Teaching kids to have a spirit of gratitude!

DonorsChoose.Org!

Superstar!

I was excited to find DonorsChoose and Burlington Coat Factory featured me and some of my awesome colleagues in their giving campaign! 

We always have a DonorsChoose project up - So... if you feel like supporting our class - just click the desk icon on the right of your screen! 

Thanks!

Thankful

There is a lot to be thankful for!

Support Our Kiddos With DonorsChoose!

Are you trying to get in the rest of your parent hours before the end of the year? Did you know that for every five dollars you donate to our class you earn one hour of time?

OR - do you just love supporting teachers and second graders?

We need YOUR help!

We have three great projects up on Donors Choose! I want my students to be able to grow really healthy, organic vegetables and learn about sustainable gardening - and I want to get just a few more pieces of technology - an iPad and two ChromeBooks - so that EVERY STUDENT can be using technology at the same time!

You can click the pink desk on the right side of your screen, under the "Stay Connected" tab - or Click here! 

You can donate as little or as much as you'd like and not only will you help your child, but you'll earn parent hours AND it's tax deductible too! 

Win, Win, Win!

THANK YOU!!!!

-Mrs. Dixon

Willie!

Can you believe how much Willie has grown? I just love this little guy! I mean, look at those ears! 

He's become a bit spoiled as he's realized he has me wrapped around his little finger. Check out his new playground! 

He LOVES it - especially the tunnel! 

Thanks Donors Choose!

Giving Communities - Why I'm Done

So since April I have been giving to various teachers with Donors Choose projects, mostly through a few giving communities, one in particular. These giving communities "choose" projects for their page and if your Donors Choose project is chosen, it likely gets funded. It's a beautiful process in theory but the problem is in the execution. 

I've been doing this since April (super consistently) and after doing this Sunday routine for the better part of a year, and meeting with my CPA, and just looking over the numbers I've decided to stop - as of today - and I have 3 reasons why.

1. I've not seen a giving page without drama and most are cliquey. I'm not into this and the game playing makes me sad. Dissension -or mere questioning - is often met with snarkieness and snarky doesn't make me happy either. And to be perfectly honest - I'm too old for it. 

2. The project choosing process is rarely transparent - though the rules for asking for a spot are crystal clear. On a funding day, you typically donate to a project on the giving page and then post yours - hoping to get your project chosen for the page. Again - I've noticed cliquey elements. When projects are chosen the reasons are often unclear or are arbitrarily specific to the process - sometimes longevity is noted, sometimes being new is noted. Sometimes large donations are noted and sometimes it's noted $1 is all it takes. It's hard to recommend a giving page to someone when the choosing process is arbitrary.

3. Charity begins at home. I looked up my donations for the year. The figure is real, y'all. Holy Moly. And that's just for the donations I've made in my own name. It makes me sad that I usually don't get a thank you - though I do like supporting others for the sake of charity - and I've donated - A.LOT.  

So what will I be doing?

I will still be supporting teachers. We have to. I love to. If not us, who? But - I'll do this differently now. I will support teachers that I know and I'll better support my own classroom. I have lots of colleagues who have projects up and I will happily send them a donation. 

My aim is to avoid those 3 big bummers, noted above. It's not a Bah Humbug situation - no sour grapes here - it's a different path - a local one, one I can manage and make sense of. It's a path that brings the process close to home.

The Donors Choose Fairy Arrived!

Oh this is so awesome! I might definitely have a project (or 4) I can use this on! 

Thanks Donors Choose!

Superstar!!!!!

Ok - this made my day, not gonna lie! I hope it makes the day of my kiddo's parents, too! 
We made the homepage of DonorsChoose.org! I don't know how long it'll be up but I found it this morning and knew I had to show y'all a screenshot.

It's like Christmas!

Wow! Thank you Donors Choose, donors and Google! 

We love the new non-fiction books! 

Now when we delve into non-fiction, my students have so many books to choose from! 

We can compare sources on so many different topics!

We also got to learn how to use our amazing Story Cubes, place value dice and 12 sided double dice!

My kids are certain they are playing games - don't tell them they are really learning a lot!

Holy Moly! Willie Says...

THANK YOU GOOGLE!!!!

Willie wants you to know that we had THREE Donors Choose projects when we woke and by the time I had taken roll all three were COMPLETELY funded by Google! 

One of the projects was a special Willie project for hay, guinea pig books, and food so kids can learn about guinea pigs and their care. Eventually they'll write their own book! Willie is  very, very excited!

Another project was for nonfiction books! With Common Core there is a huge focus on nonfiction and now our library has a lot of options! Plus, my students love, love, love nonfiction books!

Another project was for all kinds of dice! Storytelling dice. Place value dice.  Twelve sided double dice!!!! The kids are having so much fun, while learning a lot at the same time!

Willie LOVES Google (and so does Mrs. Dixon)! 
#gratitude 

#flashfunded

 Click here to learn more about Donors Choose and Google's awesome Flash Funding!

Donors Choose

We have THREE brand new Donors Choose projects up!

Remember - for every $5 you donate you get 1 hour of volunteer time.  AND - use the code "INSPIRE" when you check out and your donation (and hours) are DOUBLED!!!! 

You can find our projects using this link...

 Donors Choose

When you get to that page choose "project requests" to see our current projects! Remember -you get hours AND it's tax deductable!

Whoa! Great match this weekend!

We Love Donors Choose!

We have a new project! 

If you are looking for an excellent way to make an impact on a child's life please consider donating to our project. 

And.... it's tax deductable! 

Click Here to Donate - and THANK YOU!!!!!

This project is for 8 Chromebooks to get my students' keyboarding skills where they need to be. The kids will use them to research and write reports and will create a culminating project - like a paper or presentation. They'll even get to print it!

Teacher Appreciation

If you want to celebrate Teacher Appreciate week -- or if you need those last few volunteer hours for our school -- you can donate here. I am raising funds to buy science supplies for our class --- and your donation is tax deductable!
 

Click Here to Donate ($5=1hr)

THIS PROJECT WAS COMPLETELY FUNDED!!!!!  Click the DonorsChoose button on the top right to find our current project! - May 2014

Taxes done? In the mood to donate to a worthy cause?

We have a couple great projects in the works at DonorsChoose.org.

If you'd like to make a difference in the life of a 2nd grader, check out the site and let your heart be your guide.

http://www.donorschoose.org/roxanna.dixon